

/ 




Central Trunk Line to the Wesk 

nr,T 


A STATEMENT SHOWING THE SUPERIORITY OF THE 


« k (Ohio Railroad 


As a Short, Constant and Economical Line of Communication 



F - », 


BETWEEN THE 


Ohio and Mississippi Valleys and the Pacific Coast. 



Atlantic Seaboard Cities 


AND THOSE OF THE 



With an Acconnt of the Present Condition and Prospects of the Enterprise. 


jJanuaf^y, 1870. 




Published for the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R. Co. by 

FISK cfc HATCH, 

BANKERS, 

No. 5 Nassau Street, New York. 


Press of Holt Brothers, 87 Nassau Street, New York. 









































Chesapeake & Ohio Rail Road Co. 


OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS. 


PRESIDENT. 

C. P. HUNTINGTON, 


New York. 


VICE-PRESIDENT. 

Hon. WILLIAMS 0. WICKHAM, 

Richmond. 

TREASURER AND SECRETARY. 

JAMES J. TRACY, 

New York. 


COUNSELORS. 

JAMES II. STORRS, Hon. JOHN B. BALDWIN, 

New York. Virginia. 

CHIEF ENGINEER. 


II. D. WHITCOMB. 


DIRECTORS. 


0. P. HUNTINGTON, 

New York. 


A. A. LOW, 

New York. 


WM. H. ASPINWALL, 

New York. 


DAVID STEWART, 

New York. 


WM. B. HATCH, 


New York. 


JOHN ECHOLS, 


Si a union, Fa. 


PLINY FISK, 

Philadelphia . 

JONAS G. CLARK, 

New York. 

II. CHESTER PARSONS, 

Winfield, IF. Virginia. 

WM. C. WICKHAM, 

Richmond. 




JOSEPH R. ANDERSON, 

Richmond. 





































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_ A'£ W YOR A__ 

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ALBANY >i 


DETROIT, 


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IjOPlAtji A P 


I.UMBUS 


MAR 1 ETTA 


PArtKEPSBUR' 


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44 


4 O 


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Cl«l« \ OHIO 


M» 180 ADD. '= r 

audits connection withAVestero and Pacific Cities. 

— < — 

TABLEotDISTANCES BY 0 .RAILROAD. 


40 


From Richmond to Month of'Biff Sandy H.on OJtioFiirer 
to Point Pleasant 
cut i> „ to Cincinnati 

via " " to Chicuifo.IlU/tois 

via " " to'Potato 

via Big Sanity Jt.liaysvilie to Gncm/ui/i 562 
via - t ^Cincinnati toSULou is,.Ho. 902 

via » & Lexington toAlemphisCIhitf003 

to Guvandotte, Ohio f<. H>0 


■PI 7 nt/tr- 
125 
562 
,ij-t 
665 


38 


DECATUR -0 ,v J 

// M'/ 


i profile: oftwe Chesapeake# Ohio railroad,west of clifton force 

^ JW . ** -p 

/// / jBP --- r - " 

' I ■ 1 I I _ i ill I _I _ i _ I - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - u - Jl - J _I_1_ L _L _I_ J _L_ 


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Cents . Trunk Line to the West. 


A STATEMENT SHOWING THE SUPERIORITY OF THE 



As a Short. Constant anil Economical Line of Comninnication 


BETWEEN THE 


Atlantic Seaboard Cities 


AND THOSE OF THE 


Ohio and Mississippi Valleys and the Pacific Coasts, 


With an Account of the Present Condition and Prospects of the Enterprise. 




ANUARY, lSjO. 


Published for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, by 

FISK tfc HATCH, 

BANKERS, 

No, 5 Nassau Street, New York, 






1 3 4-0 







Central Trunk Line to the West. 

CHESAPEAKE & OHIO RAILROAD. 


«♦* 


The bulk of the traffic and travel of the United States is 
moved upon East and West lines. The course of settlement 
and of trade S2ts steadily and strongly from the Atlantic coast to 
that of the Pacific. The Alleghany, or Apalachian, chain of 
mountains, stretching obliquely across the country, sharply divides 
the Mississippi basin from the Atlantic seaboard—the great field 
of production from -the great centres of commerce and con¬ 
sumption. 

Within the memory of those now living the only communica¬ 
tion across this elevated range was by means of the buffalo trail, 
or the bridle-path of the Aborigines. The transportation of 
bulky products from one slope to the other was not attempted. 
The region lying north of the Ohio and east of the Missouri riv¬ 
ers was, at the beginning of the century, little more than an un¬ 
inhabited wilderness, with barely a few scattered settlements and 
military outposts. The means of communication, apart from the 
navigable rivers, consisted of the most primitive roads, and the 
principal articles of commerce were the products of the hunter. 

Within that same area are now comprised eight magnificent 
States, with an aggregate population exceeding twelve millions, 
whose annual products are estimated at thousands of millions; 
which contain nearly 20,000 miles of railroads, and whose freight 
carried by railroad alone, in 1867 exceeded twenty-one millions of 
tons, the value of which is estimated at over three thousand millions 
of dollars. The territory has grown in less than the life of man 
from a vast hunting ground to the strength and wealth of an empire. 
The development of the great Central Basin formed by the valleys 
of the Ohio and upper Mississippi rivers and their tributaries, has 
been more rapid than that of any other section of our Union, 



4 


and offers, indeed, a spectacle of industrial and social advance¬ 
ment without equal in the history of the human race. 

The Alleghany chain no longer remains an obstacle to the free 
passage between the ports of the sea and the fertile prairies in 
the Great Valley of the interior. Human ingenuity has devised 
a new and marvelous system of land-transport, far transcending 
the power inhering in the muscles of beasts of burden. The loco¬ 
motive now rushes along its path, spanning the deep ravine, and 
piercing the rocky crest, with surpassing strength and with the 
speed of the wind. 

Communication between Seaboard and Inland States. 

After long years of agitation and ten years of labor and expen¬ 
diture, there was completed in 1825 , an imperfect, though useful, 
means of communication between the upper waters of the Hudson 
river and the Great Lakes, by an artificial water line ; thus flank¬ 
ing the northern limit of the mountain range, and giving access 
to the territory bordering on the North-Western Lakes. 

This, besides being available for but little more than half the 
year, by reason of the rigorous climate, was found to be unsuited 
to any but the bulkier products, and was at all times tedious and 
unreliable. Fortunately, at this juncture the successful applica¬ 
tion of the steam-engine to the railroad introduced a new element 
into the problem of transportation, and at once widened the area 
within which the products of inhabited countries could be ex¬ 
changed with mutual advantage. 

Engineering Science, catching a hint from Nature, sought in 
the courses of the streams, or at the bottoms of former seas, 
for the true lines of communication. The streams, which for 
unnumbered ages have been washing the mountains into the 
plains, furnished the surest, and generally the most direct path 
across the mountain summits. The valleys of the Mohawk, the 
Susquehannah, the Delaware, the Potomac and the James were 
simultaneously and eagerly traced to the water-slied, which separat 
ted them from the Ohio system, for practicable canal lines. This 
problem engaged, for many years, the attention of Washington 
himself, in an attempt to unite the waters of the Chesapeake with 
those of the Ohio. But the engineering skill and the national re¬ 
sources of that day were hardly equal to the stupendous task of 
carrying a canal over a chain of mountains, whose lowest passes 


5 


were two thousand feet above tide-water. What was impracti¬ 
cable for the water line, was found to be of the greatest service to 
the railroad. The rails were first carried to the Lakes by the 
same circuitous route as the practicable canal. Then followed a 
railroad line in Pennsylvania, which was designed to unite two 
fragments of canal, separated by the main ridge of the Allegha- 
nies. The railroad link soon swallowed the canals, leaving to 
them only the least important part of the transportation. The 
advantages of railroads over canals soon became apparent. In 
the Ohio Valley and beyond, the canal projects were aban¬ 
doned, and the energies of the people were directed toward 
the construction of railroads. The result was, that by the time 
the third trans-Alleghany line had been carried from the seaboard 
to the Ohio river, by the Maryland route, following the Potomac, 
the West had built with astonishing rapidity a vast system of 
railroad communications, exceeding in aggregate length that of 
the seaboard States, and equalling that of the lines of Great 
Britain. 

The Virginia Line to the West. 

By the very nature of things, the essential conditions for a 
practicable railway route do not exist at all points along the 
Alleghany range, but are found only at rare intervals, where the 
general course is so direct, and the descent of the streams so 
gradual as to be available for grades, upon which our machinery 
may be safely operated. The number of such passes is necessarily 
limited. Out of innumerable explorations, four only have been 
broughtinto use between the Ohio valle} T and the seaboard, and these 
are found at distances averaging more than one hundred miles 
apart. In addition to that mentioned, in Pennsylvania, and the one 
in Maryland, a third has been carried across the northern portion 
of New York, passing over into northern and western Ohio, 
without, however, touching any considerable city or point of 
river navigation until Cincinnati is reached, by a line of 860 miles. 

The fourth, and the one, on the whole, combining the most 
favorable features, is that following the waters of the James to 
their sources, and thence down the tributaries of the Kanawha 
Branch to the Ohio. This route is one which has not of late years, 
from its isolation during the clouds of war, received the atten¬ 
tion it deserves, but has at last pressed itself into public notice by 







6 


the enterprise and weight of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Com¬ 
pany, in whose hands the franchise of the whole line between the 
tide water of Virginia and the Kentucky shores of the Ohio is 

O 4/ 

now vested. 

Through the superior force and energy incident to the free labor 
system of the North, the more difficult and costly routes referred 
to were pushed to successful completion. Now that slavery is 
extinguished, and Virginia is thrown open to the same energy 
and self-reliant private enterprise which have conquered so much 
greater difficulties farther north, her superior and comparatively 
easy route invites eager attention, and is at once seized upon. 

The superiority of the route covering the valleys of the James 
and Kanahwa streams was pointed out more than twenty-five 
years ago. The celebrated Civil Engineer Charles Ellet, in his 
surveys for a canal line, established its advantages of minimum 
elevation, directness, and easy gradients over any of the known 
passes. Indeed, its general features were long ago recognized, 
since it was followed by the pioneers, and the military expeditions 
of the early settlers against the Indians and the French ; and in 
later years, the turnpike forming the great highway to Kentucky 
and the Southwest was constructed on substantially the same 
line. Henry Clay and his colleagues in Congress from the 
southwest, were accustomed to ride over this same route to and 
from Washington City before the days of railroads, and the houses 
at which they rested or slept on the journey are still pointed out. 

The aid of the State of Virginia was invoked during the period 
from 1824 to 1845, and with the aid of private capital, after ten 
years of exertion and the expenditure of more than ten millions in 
money, a canal was carried nearly two hundred miles up the valley 
of the James, when the outbreak of the war put an end to the 
stupendous work. It would require to complete it to the 
Kanahwa, an expenditure variously estimated at from forty to 
eighty millions of dollars, and involve, beside three thousand feet 
of additional lockage-lift, a tunnel through the summit of the 
Alleghanies nine miles in length. Such is the demand for new 
outlets to the seaboard that even this enterprise has recently re¬ 
ceived much attention. Such a work may, indeed, be prosecuted 
if the means are provided, and in the course of ten years might 
be completed. The growing commerce and the spirit of the age, 
however, demand the Railroad at once. 


7 


The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. 

San Francisco, St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati and Richmond 
are situated on nearly the same parallel of latitude, and are within 
the most favorable belt of temperate climate which spans the North 
American Continent. The Bay of San Francisco, on the western 
coast, and the Chesapeake Bay, on the Atlantic coast, have no 
equals as harbors for safety of approach, depth of water, or free¬ 
dom from the rigors of winter. The shortest practicable railroad 
line from San Francisco and Salt Lake to the navigable waters of 
the Atlantic is that passing through these great inland cities, 
and reaching the waters of the Chesapeake by the route of the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. This line, besides being the most 
direct, is also that where the grades are the most uniform, where 
fuel is abundant, and where the climate is most favorable to its 
constant operation. 

The CHESAPEAKE & OHIO RAILROAD is the result of 
a consolidation of the Virginia Central Railroad with the 
Covington & Ohio Railroad, authorized bv the Legislatures 
of Virginia and West Virginia, in 1866, to build, control and 
operate as a continuous line, the road extending from the James 
River to the northeastern corner of the State of Kentucky, a 
distance of about four hundred and twentv-seven miles, and sev- 
era! important branches thereof. Authority is also granted to 
unite and consolidate with the lint s on the south side of the 
James River connecting Lynchburg and Richmond to Norfolk. 

The Virginia Central Railroad had its origin in the 
Charter granted in 1836, designed to carry a line from Hanover 
Court House, through the counties lying to the westward, 
under the title of the u Louisa Railroad .” It was extended 
from time to time, in accordance with an enlarged plan, and as 
fast as means could be raised therefor. Like most of the 
great internal improvements of Virginia, it was constructed upon 
the a three-fifths” plan ; that is, the State subscribed to three- 
fifths the amount of the Capital Stock, the proxy of the State 
being held by an officer appointed by the Governor. 

The importance of a line to the great West, and of the advan¬ 
tages of the James River and Kanawha route for railroad pur¬ 
poses, became more and more apparent, and in 1848, the Company 
severed its connection with the Fredericksburg line, of which it 






8 


had been merely a feeder, established an independent line to the 
docks in Richmond, and began to push westward to the Piedmont 
country. 

The State had meanwhile begun the construction of the re¬ 
markable tunnel through the crest of the Blue Ridge, 4,000 feet 
in length. This work, together with a few miles of the line on 
either side, was leased (with the right of purchase on most advan¬ 
tageous terms,) to the Virginia Central Company, and incorpor¬ 
ated as part of their line. From Richmond to Gordonsville, 
where it connects with the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, and 
thence to Charlottesville, the line was of light grades and com¬ 
paratively easy construction. From the latter point to Staunton, 
in the valley of Virginia, the work was heavy and expensive, the 
greater portion being borne by the State. From Staunton to 
Jackson’s river, across the North mountain, the work was much 
less expensive. This portion was completed just as the war broke 
out, and effected a reentrance to the James river valley by a more 
direct and practicable route than by following the course of the 
canal through Lynchburg. At Jackson’s river, the progress of 
the line was arrested until 1867, when ten miles additional were 
built, bringing the line to Covington, 205 miles distant from 
Richmond. 

Consolidation of the Virginia Central ivith the 
Covington & Ohio Railroad . 

In the meantime the State of Virginia had constituted its Board 
of Public Works, a corporation under the title of the Covington 
and Ohio Railroad Company with authority to construct the 
line between Covington and the mouth of the Big Sandy tributary 
of the Ohio, with a branch to the mouth of the Kanawha, 
appropriating ten millions for the work. The surveys were carried 
on and the work begun at several points along the line ; and at 
the outbreak of the war, which put an end to the appropriations, 
$3,213,194, gold value, had been expended upon the road. Most of 
this expenditure was upon tunnelling and excavation which would 
not suffer appreciably by the lapse of time. The separation of West 
Virginia carried with it the public works belonging to the parent 
State, and during the war the Board of Public Works of West 
Virginia held control of the franchises and the property of the 


9 


Covington and Ohio Railroad Company within her boundaries. 
In 1866, however, the consent of both States was received to con¬ 
solidate the interests of the two corporations, under the title of 
the CHESAPEAKE & OHIO RAILROAD COMPANY, and 
the authority therefor granted by Statutes, whereof the enacting 
clauses of both are nearly identical. By this legislation the in¬ 
terest and property of the States, and the work done between 
Covington and the Big Sandy were transferred to the Corpora¬ 
tion, on condition that the line should he completed to the Ohio. 

The eastern portion of the Covington and Ohio line was by far 
the most difficult and costly. Of the $3,213,194, expended before 
the war by the State of Virginia, over $2,500,000 was consumed 
in the 221 miles immediately west of Covington, including the 
excavation of a double track tunnel 4,800 feet in length at the 
summit of the main Alleghany chain ; and seven smaller tunnels 
partially completed. As the whole of this work was available, 
the line has been recently extended to the celebrated Greenbrier 
White Sulphur Springs, a favorite summer resort, situated near 
the line dividing Virginia from West Virginia, distant from 
Richmond 227 miles, from the Falls of Kanaliwa 117 miles, and 
from the western terminus on the Ohio 200 miles. This was ac¬ 
complished by the first day of July, 1869, after an expenditure 
of nearly one million dollars, and the line thereby opened to a 
very gratifying passenger business. 

The line has therefore already pierced the Rlue Ridge and Alle¬ 
ghany ranges of mountains, and has emerged upon the slope whose 
waters run to the Ohio river. 

About 14 miles west of the White Sulphur Springs, about 
$92,500 had been expended in grading on the Greenbrier section; 
and on the western section between Charleston and Big Sandy, 
about $543,000, or nearly one-third the cost of road-bed. This 
portion of the work includes a vast amount of embankment, 
bridge masonry, and excavation, carried out on the most liberal 
and substantial scale for a double track railroad, nearly all of 
which will he incorporated in the line as now located. 

The estimate of the Engineer, under whom the Covington and 
Ohio Railroad was being built under State auspices, may be pre¬ 
sumed to have been sufficiently liberal. It placed the cost of the 
225 miles between Covington and Big Sandy, with masonry and 
tunnels of double track width, with first class single track super- 




10 


structure, at $11,612,636. Of this amount $4,300,000 has been 
expended, so that it will ultimately have that value to its present 
owners. These estimates were in gold, and are based on the 
prices of labor and material before the war. During the past two 
years the line has been carefully re-surveyed, and in some cases im¬ 
proved, and it is the opinion of the Company’s Engineer-in-Chief, 
H. D. Whitcomb, and others, that the line can be carried to the 
Ohio for less than $10,000,000, in addition to the amount already 
expended, notwithstanding the increased cost of labor and ma¬ 
terial, and establish a first class line of single track railroad— 
with provision made for a second track at important points— 
or at an average expenditure of about $50,000 per mile. 

The Shortest Portage between Seaboard and 

Inland Navigation, 

< Students of the physical geography of the continent, will per¬ 
ceive that the most westerly indentation of the Atlantic coast 
line, north of Cape Hatteras, is found in the James river ; 
Richmond being absolutely the most western limit of Atlantic 
tide-water navigationA 

The most easterly limits of the Ohio navigation are found at 
Pittsburg, and at Cannelton on the Kanahwa; the latter a point 
nearer to Atlantic tide-water than Pittsburg by 12 miles, and also 
nearer to Cincinnati, by water, more than 200 miles. The line 
of railroad between Richmondf and this point on the Kanahwa 
furnishes the shortest portage between the coast and inland sys¬ 
tems of navigation. Barges can transfer their freights to cars at 
the Falls of Kanahwa whence they are carried to the waters of 
the Chesapeake by a line 12 to 40 miles shorter than the line 
between Pittsburg and Philadelphia, and 41 to 70 miles shorter 
than ihe line between Parkersburg and Baltimore. At the same 
time boats can receive at the western terminus of the Chesa¬ 
peake and Ohio Railroad and carry return freights to Cincinnati 


* Steamers drawing 12 feet of water can land at the docks in Richmond. By a line of 45 
miles, West Point is reached, with 20 feet of water ; by a line of 25 miles, City Point, with 20 
feet; and, by a line of 70 miles, Newport News, where 22 feet are found. There is nearly con¬ 
stant bay and canal communication between Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New 
York. 

tit is in contemplation to build a short line between Charlottesville and Richmond, for which 
surveys have been made, which, together with curtailment at other points, would reduce 
the distance between the East and West terminus 27 miles. See table, page 12. 











11 


and all points on the Mississippi by a course 350 miles shorter 
than boats loading at Pittsburg, and 250 miles shorter than the 
course from Wheeling. Whether by continuous railroad line, or 
combined water and rail, the shortest distance from unfailing 
coast navigation 
is found on the ' 

and Ohio Railroad touches the 16,000 miles of Mississippi system 
of navigation at its most reliable eastern limit, and thence to 
the principal Western cities has absolutdy the shortest available 
connecting railroad and water lines. 

The importance of this advantage may be appreciated, when it 
is known that steamboats loaded at St. Paul, Minn, Fort Benton, 
Mon., Fort Smith, Ark., Shreveport and New Orleans, La., Tus- 
cumbia, Ala., Nashville, Tenn., Naples, Ills., and intermediate 
points, can transfer their cargoes to the cars of the Chesapeake 
aud Ohio Railroad at the Falls of Kanahwa* during the greater 
portion of the year, or at the mouth of the Big Sandy river 
nearly all the year round. For the transportation of heavy 
freight from distant points on the Western rivers to tide-water 
this is of the utmost importance, as the river navigation is so 
cheap as to control heavy freights.f 

Should the railroads of the West, in time, supersede the river 
navigation for the transportation of heavy or bulky freights, the 
line of the Chesapeake and Ohio still remains the shortest link 
betiveen the 20,000 miles of ivestern railroads and the Atlantic. 

Advantage of Grades and Operating power. 

Nor is the shortness of the portage its greatest advantage. The 
line is not onlv more direct between this great middle belt of cities 
and the seaboard, but it is also the lightest and most uniform in 
its grades and curves. The grades on the Chesapeake and Ohio, 
between its western termini on the Ohio and Clifton Forge, a point 
30 miles east of the Alleghany summit—a distance of 236 miles 


to the great cities of the Mississippi river system 
Virginia line. In other words, the Chesapeake 


* The Cincinnati Packet Steamers ply irregularly to Cannelton, immediately below the Falls 
of Kanahwa. A chartered Company is already organized and at work deepening the channel 
of the Upper Kanahwa, so as to render it available for boats of this class at all seasons. 

tAverage charges on grain by barges on Hudson river, 2.4 mills per ton per mile. Average 
cost on western rivers, estimated at 5 mills per ton per mile. Average rates on 13 canals 3 1-3 
cents per ton per mile. Average expenses on all freights by Erie canal, 5 mills per ton per mile, 
Average charges by rail 2.50 cents. 















12 


—the grades will nowhere exceed 30 feet to the mile. East ot 
Clifton Forge they reach the maximum in crossing the North 
Mountain Spur, 80 feet in going westward, and 75 feet going 
eastward. On the Blue Bidge the grade going west once touches 
75 feet, and going east, 74 feet (on straight line) for short dis¬ 
tances only. The least radius of curvature between Richmond 
and the White Sulphur is 1,442 feet. 

The full force of this advantage will be understood when it is 
explained, that the cost of moving a given weight along a line in¬ 
creases in a constantly accumulating ratio in proportion as the 
steepness of the grade is increased. For example, the motive 
power which would suffice to draw 307 tons on grades of 10 feet 
to the mile, would draw only 168 tons upon grades of 50 feet to 
the mile, or 100 tons on grades of 90 feet to the mile. Or by the 
method in use among engineers, of equating grades and distances, 
the line of highest grades is, for the purposes of operation, equal 
to so much additional length of line, since it requires so much 
more power to move a given weight a certain distance. Where 
the grades are unusually high, the loss of operating power is still 
further increased by the necessity of using additional motive 
power and service, or by the application of special mechanical 
contrivances. 

By the table hereto * annexed it will be seen that the shortest 
line between New York and Lake Erie, by the New York Central 
line is 440 miles ; and by the Erie Railway 460. While the 
average grades of the former line are light, yet they occasionally 
exceed 60 feet ; and on the latter there is a large amount exceeding 


* Table showing the comparative distances by rail between Atlantic 


Ports and Inland River navigation. 

Miles. 

A ia Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad.— Richmond to Cannelton*. 343 

Alexandria or West P’t toCannelton«?56 

Via Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.— Baltimore to Wheeling. 379 

Baltimore to Parkersburg. 384 

Via Pennsylvania Cent. Railroad. —Pittsburg to Philadelphia... 3o3 

Pittsburg to New York. . 431 

Via New York Central Railroad.— Buffalo to New York. 442 

Buffalo to Albany. 298 

Via Erie Railway .Dunkirk to NewfYork. 430 

Buffalo to New York. 432 

Head of navigation on the Kanahwa. See note, page 11. 

















13 


75 feet per mile. By the Pennsylvania line, the distance between 
tide-water and the intermittent navigation of the Ohio at Pitts¬ 
burg, (where for a full third of the year the boats are impeded by 
drouth, and during another third by ice and frost), the distance by 
railroad is 355 miles, and involves heavy grades, exceeding in some 
instances, 90 feet per mile for many continuous miles. The same 
disadvantages apply with equal or greater force to the Baltimore 
and Ohio railroad line, which consumes 379 miles in reaching the 
Ohio at Wheeling, and 384 miles at'Parkersburg, where the river 
navigation is scarcely improved, and which involves continuous 
stretches of high grades, rising to 116 feet to the mile and up¬ 
wards. The gradient of the Chesapeake and Ohio will average 
50 per cent lighter than that of the Baltimore and Ohio, and 30 
per cent lighter than that of the Pennsylvania line, so that 
whether we compute by absolute linear measurement, or by equiv¬ 
alent grades and distances, the Chesapeake and Ohio is in both 
respects , the shortest line; and as certainly as the existence of the 
law of gravitation can be more cheaply operated. 

It is probable, indeed, that the enormous traffic seeking an out¬ 
let to the seaboard will induce the Company to construct a sepa¬ 
rate double track for freighting purposes. By carrying an East¬ 
ern Fork of the line from Clifton Forge, 191 miles west of Rich¬ 
mond, down the valley of the James river, which could be done 
at small cost, and for which authority is granted, tide-water 
could be reached by a short line having but a single summit 
elevation, and with grades in either direction not exceeding 30 
feet per mile between the Ohio and the Chesapeake navigation. 
This would give them possession of not only the nearest, but also 
incomparably the easiest and cheapest line between the Atlantic 
and the Great West. 

Transportation of Western Products to Seaboard, 

A short line, low grades, light curves, and a genial climate 
must exert a powerful influence in drawing to the Chesapeake and 
Ohio Railroad line its full proportion of the through traffic. It 
is nearer the fields of production, it can carry freights cheaper and 
with more certainty, and can land them on the Atlantic cheaper 
than any of its competitors. Estimating the difference in length, 
trades and curves between the several lines between the great west 

o 





14 


and the seaboard, it is apparent that the Virginia line can convey 
the products from common points in the interior to common points 
on the seaboard, including blew Vork, at rates fully twenty-five 
per cent, cheaper than those charged by the more northern lines. 
This is a vast sum to he saved, and cannot fail to divert of this 
business all that the capacity of the new line will accommodate. 

The difference of 10 cents per barrel on flour, between Chicago 
and the seaboard, has, within a year, caused an immense quantity 
to he carried to its port of shipment over the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad. The following extract from the Report of the Com¬ 
mittee of the National Board of Trade, at its meeting in 1869, 
gives as, nearly as may he, the present condition of the East and 
West lines of transportation : 

“ To show the inadequacy of the present means of outlet for transmitting such 
a volume of produce as would be spared for market, we may estimate the maxi¬ 
mum theoretic capacity of the Erie canal for through produce at seven millions 
of tons; we may estimate the utmost capacity of all the railroads now leading 
across the Alleghanies at eight millions of tons, for through freights. It would he 
safe to estimate the amount of western produce which now goes out by the chan¬ 
nels of the St. Lawrence and the lower Mississippi, at four millions of tons. 
(The capacity of the lower outlets of the Mississippi and of the St. Lawrence for 
discharging produce, is, of course, not measured by the quantity actually going 
out, but rather by the capacity of existing appliances for its shipment.) Thus, 
the utmost theoretic capacity of these several avenues of outlet does not exceed 
19,000,000 of tons. The quantity of western through tonnage actually moving 
over them is but little more than half this amount. Yet the present tonnage 
which could be spared by the West, and which could be forwarded to market, if 
its products were mobilized by cheap carriage, and by ample avenues of trans¬ 
portation, would be twenty-five millions of tons. (See article I, Hunt’s Maga¬ 
zine for August, 1868.) It is not therefore merely a question, whether we shall 
add new railroads to those already engaged in the work, or whether we shall 
merely open new canals, or whether we shall merely increase the appliances 
necessary for transmitting produce through the lower Mississippi and the Gulf. 
Resort must be had to all these expedients, and still there will be a grievous defi¬ 
ciency in the means of conducting the vast transportation.” 

These figures may seem too high, but even they leave out of ac¬ 
count the effect which lower rates of transportation would have upon 
increasing shipments. There is little doubt, from past experience, 
that if the charges should he reduced twenty-five per cent., the 
amount of produce, etc., available for shipment would be increased 
more than twenty-five per cent., and so on, in greater ratio, for 
further reductions. 

The four trunk lines between the seaboard and the west, ac¬ 
cording to the latest statistics, carried, both ways, an aggregate of 


15 


more than 12,000,000 tons of freight in a single year, exclusive of 
that carried by the Erie Canal. What proportion of this was 
through freight cannot be definitely ascertained, but on three 
of them, at least, the amount was a large proportion of the entire 
traffic. Estimating, by the basis of some of the lines, the through 
freight at only a fourth of the whole, it would give an aggre- 
gate of 3,000,000 tons per annum, with an equal sum upon the 
canal, to be transported between the seaboard and the west. Al¬ 
lowing only a fifth part of this immense tonnage, or say, one mil¬ 
lion of tons per annum, at the rate of tw r o cents only per ton per 
mile* for an average distance of 400 miles, this would give to the 
Chesapeake and Ohio a revenue of $8,000,000 from this source 
alone. This rate, however, is fully 25 per cent, less than the 
average charges at present. 

Passenger Traffic bettveen Washington and the West . 

Similarly, the short line, easy grades and more favorable winters 
enable the Chesapeake and Ohio line to run their passenger trains 
between common points at the West, South and Southwest and the 
City of Washington—and even points north of it—with greater 
speed and safety. The passenger traffic on the Washington branch 
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, as is well known, is enormous 
—that being, hitherto, the principal approach to the National 
Capital from the West, as well as from the North. From that 
point to Gordonsville, on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, is 
but ninetv-six miles over an excellent line of road. The Virginia 
line is actually the shortest route of road between Washington 
City and Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, Memphis and Nashville 
in miles, and, equating grades, is nearer also to Chicago. The 
following table will show the actual saving in distance between 
those points and Washington, showing a gain of thirty-one 
miles to Cincinnati; seventy-four miles to Louisville ; thirty- 
one miles to St. Louis ; seventy-four miles to Memphis, and 
seventy-four miles to Nashville, over the more northerly routes. 


* The average charges on the Michigan Southern for several years were from 2.10 to 2.90 
cents per ton per mile. On the Pennsylvania road, fuel and general freight averaged in 1868, 
1.9C6 cents per ton per mile. On the Illinois Central the rate varies from 1.95 cents (gold,) to 
3.19 cents per ton per mile. On the Chicago and Rock Island Railway the average was from 2.58 
to 3.50 cents per ton per mile. Average on Pittsburgh and Port Wayne, from 1.70 to 2.44 

cents per ton per mile. 














16 


Table showing the distances between Washington and Western 
Cities over the Chesapeake and Ohio, and Maryland and Pennsyl¬ 
vania routes. 


Distance from Washington, 

via 

To Cincinnati. 

1 

o 

CJD 
c6 
o 

• rH 
rH 

O 

o 

E-i 

To Louisville. 

1 

0 rH 

H 

** 

q 

in 

o 

H 

To Memphis. 

To Nashville. 

Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad 

582 

866 

646 

922 

1,023 

831 

Baltimore & Ohio do. 

613 

852 

720 

953 

1,097 

905 

Penn. Central do. 

646 

842 

753 

989 

1,130 

938 


Among the roads, already building or projected, which will 
connect with the Chesapeake and Ohio at the West, are the Lex¬ 
ington and Big Sandy Railroad , (125 miles,) which will furnish a 
short line to Louisville, via Lexington ; the Lexington , Elizabeth¬ 
town and Paducah Railroad, affording a short route to Nashville, 
Memphis and Cairo: the Cincinnati , Maysville and Big Sandy , 
connecting the lines centering at the former city, by a line of 
135 miles from the mouth of the Big Sandy ; the Columbus 
and Hocking Valley Railroad, which will connect with the Chesa¬ 
peake and Ohio at Point Pleasant; and the Scioto Valley , which 
will also connect Columbus and the Ohio lines, via Portsmouth. 

When the Chesapeake and Ohio shall have perfected its main 
line,* and its western connections are established, it is not too 
much to say, that in view of its other advantages, it would be 
enabled to compete on equal terms with the rival lines for the 
Western passenger traffic, as well as the freight, to and from New 
York. It will be, manifestly, in the power of the company to offer 
both to shippers and passengers such inducements as would give 
their road all the business it may be advisable to add to the more 
profitable, important local traffic awaiting its completion. 

We may add to these advantages, the fact that the route of the 
Chesapeake and Ohio is unsurpassed in attractions of scenery by 
any road on this side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains; its course 
on both slopes of the Alleghany chain is picturesque beyond even 


* The route of the Orange and Alexandria road from its intersection with the Chesapeake 
and Ohio is also favorable to a direct line and low grades, and under a consolidated manage¬ 
ment, very quick time could be made between Washington and Cincinnati, and points South 
and West. 





























17 


that ot the Maryland line. The canon of New River is a marvel 
of wild grandeur, unequalled in the Apalachian Range. The 
White Sulphur Springs must also become a point of great attrac¬ 
tion to the inhabitants of the Mississippi Valley, as much irom 
the natural beauty of the place, as for the medicinal properties 
of its waters. 

The Ayr ic ult aval Resources along the Route . 

Virginia (East and West) embraces 61,352 square miles of 
territory, or 39,265,280 acres of land, of which in 1860 only 
11,435,954 acres were improved, leaving 27,829,326 acres unim¬ 
proved ! The question may be asked—How is it that a State so 
long settled has so large a portion ot her territory unimproved P 
The question can be easily answered. Most of the unoccupied 
lands of Virginia were, during the latter part of the last century, 
taken up in large tracts by speculators, whose successors have 
since held them. Few inducements were offered to small and 
actual settlers to purchase lands, and for that reason, together 
with the presence of slave labor, emigrants from Europe and from 
the Eastern States have been attracted to the far West, where 
Government lands could he purchased at low rates and in 
quantities to suit the purchasers. This order of things in 
Virginia is now changed. Not only are these vast unoccupied 
tracts of land placed upon the market in moderate quantities at 
low figures, but many of the old plantations hitherto tilled by 
slave labor are being cut up into small farms and cultivated by 
white labor. 

The great strength of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad 
Enterprise rests, however, in its important local traffic. The 
through business it can share to the extent that is desirable,, 
but the road itself runs through a country of marvellous resources.. 
Between Richmond and Gordonsviile is a line corn and tobacco* 
region. At the latter point it receives the business of the Orange 
and Alexandria Railroad, which is, in effect, at present a branch 
line of the Chesapeake and Ohio. The line then crosses the rich 
Shenandoah Valley by way of Staunton, passing through some 
of the finest wheat and tobacco districts in Virginia, for both of 
which the State is without an equal, except possibly California. 
The one hundred and forty miles between Covington and the 
Kanawha is one full of attractions for tourists. Its valleys are 







18 


mainly cultivated, and the high table lands are well suited tor 
grazing purposes. This district was for many years the best 
resource of the Virginia armies for cattle and food. At the 
Kanawha, the line touches the famous “ blue grass” region, 
extending along the foot-slopes of the hills to the central portion 
of Kentucky. Before the war the number of cattle driven from 
West Virginia to Baltimore and Philadelphia was very great. 
This is undoubtedly the best grazing region on this side of the 
Mississippi, and is much nearer the Atlantic markets than are 
the famous live stock regions of Kentucky and Illinois. 

The land between the Kanawha and the Big Sandy is a rich, 
undulating country, well settled and improved, and partakes of 
the same characteristics as the best species of Ohio river bottom 
lands. The corn crops here are immense. Land is now to be had 
in Virginia of better quality and at lower prices than it can be 
found anywhere else east of the Mississippi. The railroad is 
needed to convey the products of the farmers to market. This 
completed, these States must start ahead, both in numbers and 
wealth. These natural advantages, together with the hearty 
introduction of free schools, and the encouragments to free 
labor, open to immigration an attractive field for settlement. 

Coal , Iron and Salt Deposits. 

But far beyond any of the foregoing advantages in importance, 
must be placed the valuable deposits of coal, iron, lead, petroleum, 
salt, etc., which are to be found in close proximity to the road. 
The whole area of coal deposits in Virginia and West Virginia is 
estimated at 15,900 square miles, or more than the combined 
area of Pennsylvania ; embracing every variety, including anthra¬ 
cite, cannel, bituminous and laminated anthracite, or “ splint” 
coal. This latter variety is the more valuable because it is es¬ 
pecially in request for smelting ores, being free from sulphur. It 
is found at but two or three other places in the United States, 
and at those in limited quantities only. On the banks of the 
Kanawha it is found in immense quantities, and at points con¬ 
venient to the railroad. Hardly less valuable are the vast 
deposits of cannel coal which are found contiguous to the 
splint strata. This coal, which is'so largely in use for gas manu¬ 
facturing purposes, and of which 300,000 tons were yearly im- 


19 


ported from abroad, is sold in New York at from $15. to $22. 
per ton. 

This precious deposit, like tho other varieties, can be mined in 
limitless quantities at $2.00, per ton, allowing for transportation 
to Richmond, two cents per ton, per mile, or $7.00 per ton, it is 
evident, that coal could be laid down at tide water for $9.00, and in 
New York for $11.00. It is believed, however, that coal could be 
carried at a profit over the light grades for one and one-tliird cents 
per ton per mile, or $5.00 per ton, from the mines to Richmond. 
The Baltimore and Ohio Road is carrying coal over 116 feet grades 
for less than two cents per ton per mile, and over the 70 feet 
grades between Cumberland and Baltimore, for one and one-third 
•cents per ton per mile. 

In like manner, the coal traffic from the Kanawha mines 
to points westward promises to be important. Very frequently, 
by reason of insufficient water, the coal barges from the Pittsburg 
district are unable to proceed to the lower Ohio and Mississippi, 
and at other times vast quantities are lost by floods and by ice. 
Scarcity and high prices are then felt all along the navigable rivers. 
It will be practicable for the Chesapeake and Ohio to deliver the 
Kanawha coal at all seasons, either at the better navigation of the 
Ohio, below the Guyandotte tributary, or to forward it direct to 
Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis and intermediate 
points, at rates not appreciably greater than the average charges 
involved by the river transit.* 

Coal has been said by a great statesman to be at the founda¬ 
tion of the great wealth and power of the British Empire. Coal 
has enriched and populated a large part of Pennsylvania, confer¬ 
ring a value on her rugged hillsides far greater than that of her 
most fertile plains. Virginia, like Pennsylvania, has both coal 
and iron deposits-of vast extent, which have been hitherto un¬ 
known or neglected. On the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio 
from Staunton to Covington, are found inexhaustible beds of the 
finest iron ore, situated about 200 miles distant from the coal 
beds of the Kanahwa. Iron ore is also found in the New River, 
Upper Kanawha Valley, within 50 miles of the coal fields. 

To unite the coal of one slope of the Alleghanies with the iron 


*Coal is offered, delivered on the ears, at the Kanawha mines at seven cents per bushel, or 
$1.9ti per ton. The price Of ordinary bituminous coal, at the Ohio River landings, not un- 
frequently reaches fifteen to thirty cents per bushel,— $4.20 to $8.40 per ton. 









20 


of the other, and vice versa , must be one of the great functions 
of the Chesapeake and Ohio. These several valuable deposits 
will be connected by a line of 200 miles ot railroad, whereon cars 
will pass loaded with ore, and returning with coal to the great 
factories which must hereafter spring up at both ends of the- 
line to supply the demands of the Atlantic slope and the great 
west. Already the iron ores of Lake Superior, Missouri and 
Pennsylvania are being brought together at Pittsburg, and other 
points on the Ohio river, for the fusion of a more perfect metal. 
The ores of Virginia possess qualities which are in great request 
for mixing: with other ores*. The new line of railroad will afford 
unsurpassed facilities, by combining its peculiar coal and ores, for 
the building up ot an immense iron manufacture on the nav¬ 
igation of the Ohio and on that of the Chesapeake. The busL 
ness and profits to be derived from this source, it would be diffi¬ 
cult to estimate too highly. 

> 

Limestone and lead ores are also found in abundance on both 
slopes of the mountains. In the Kanawha valley at this time 
are several salt manufactories. This branch of trade can be 
expanded indefinitely, as the coal is found adjacent to the salt 
springs. The climate, soil and general healthfulness of the belt 
of country of which the railroad must be the principal outlet, are 
exceedingly well adapted to a dense and busy population. A new 
and thrifty centre of industry must, by the force of these ele¬ 
ments, arise on the western portion of this line, which may in 
time overshadow any of the present cities of the Ohio valley. 

Growth and Influence of Railroads. 

Of the value and advantages of railroads in a community there 
is no dispute. Something of their influence may be discerned in the 
unparalleled growth of tire Western States, and in the prodigious 
efforts which are being made to extend their railroad system. It 
is no longer deemed necessary to wait for a particular district to 
be settled before running railroads through it ; the roads are first 
built, and the region more easily settled thereby. The roads create 


* The cost of manufacturing one ton of pig iron, as given by reliable authority, at Cincin¬ 
nati is $28 50; at Jackson, near the Ohio River $28 00 ; at Allentown, Pa., about $20 00; and at 
points along the route, after the Chesapeake and Ohio line is opened to the Kanahwa, at 
$12 00. Both magnetic and hematite ores are found along the head waters of the Jame-r 
River. 






the traffic which is afterward to yield the profits of their enter¬ 
prise. This policy has proved so successful, that the railroads 
beyond the Mississippi are being pushed ahead of the immigration, 
and, at the present ratio of increase, the Western States will have 
more miles of railroad in proportion to their population, than any 
other part of the country. 

Classifying the States into five groups, viz: New England, 
Middle. Western, Southern and Pacific States, we have the 
followi ng instructive statistics : 

From the close of 1865 to the close of 1868, the increase in 
railroad mileage in the six New England states was 175 miles ; in 
the six Middle states, 226 miles ; in the ten Southern states, 
1,061 miles ; in the ten Western states, 4,042 miles ; and in the 
thi *ee Pacific states, 656 miles. Massachusetts had the greatest 
ratio to its area, or 1 mile of railroad to 5.47 of area ; Connec¬ 
ticut 1 to 7.34 ; New Jersey 1 to 8.55 ; New York 1 to 14.12 ; 
Pennsylvania 1 to 10.46 ; Ohio 1 to 11.76 ; Indiana 1 to 13; 
Illinois 1 to 16.11; and even South Carolina 1 to 27.31 square 
miles; while Virginia had only 1 to 27.94 of area, and Kentucky 
1 to 46.25 miles. Virginia and Kentucky, two of the most favored 
of nature, are deficient in railroad mileage as compared with 
area, far beyond their natural position. A glance at the map will 
show that there is no equal area of fertile territory east of the 
Mississippi in which the railroads are so deficient as that between 
the Baltimore and Ohio, and the East Tennessee lines. 

The district, (26 counties,) tributary to the Chesapeake and 
Ohio line contained, by the census of 1860, a population of 
321,400. Counting the region traversed by the extensions to 
Lexington and Cincinnati, it is capable of supporting a popula¬ 
tion of three millions. 

When we remember that the Virginia territory received the 
earliest European settlements on the North American conti¬ 
nent ; and that for half a century Virginia remained the most 
populous, wealthy and influential State of the Union—her rela¬ 
tive deficiency in works of internal improvement, at this day, is 
apparent. If we consider also her unrivalled harbors and seaboard 
lines, her varied and fertile soil and mineral treasures, her genial 
climate and perennial streams, whereon the ice formation seldom 
exceeds an inch in thickness, and where the snow-fall is so slight 
as to present no obstacle to travel and transportation—her op- 








22 


portunities for rapid and prosperous developement and tor profit¬ 
able railroad enterprise are without parallel in the country. 

The Oppressive Tax upon East and West Traffic. 

We have thus far considered the amount of freight seeking 
transport from the west to the east, and from the east to the west, 
according to its present proportions. It is necessary to rise to 
the full comprehension of the fact that this interchange of pro¬ 
ducts is merely in its infancy ! Statistics show that production 
keeps pace with the increase of railroads, but in a constantly in¬ 
creasing ratio. It is shown* that, while in the Western States 
the railroad mileage has doubled, the tonnage thereon has more 
than quadrupled. 

Both these processes are now at work on an unexampled scale 
in our country, and it would be hazardous to set the dimensions 
of the east-and-west trade ten years, hence. It is certain that 
the’n, as now, commerce will be seeking new channels. The ex¬ 
isting ones are already overtaxed, and keep the rates of trans¬ 
portation at the maximum limit. The amount of produce 
shipped, and the corresponding amounts of merchandise con¬ 
sumed by the West are already depressed and fettered by the 
high charges imposed upon their transportation. With every 
reduction of rates the amount shipped increases in even greater 
proportion. Although the average of railroad transportation 
charges has been steadily decreasing, the impression is general at 
the West that they are still far too high. This conviction is seek¬ 
ing expression in the efforts to build an additional canal round 
Niagara Ealls, and to ship breadstuffs down the Mississippi, and, 
by way of the Gulf, to Europe. While the former project is em¬ 
barrassed by the shortness of the season of navigation, it is said 
that this latter experiment is confronted by a natural objection, in 
the liability of the grain and flour to damage while passing through 
the warm waters of the tropics. A new outlet to the Atlantic has 
become a positive necessity of the time, and this is afforded, under 
the most favorable conditions, by the route of the C. & 0. R. R. 


* In the State of New York, during the ten years from 1858 to 1868, the increase in equiva¬ 
lent single track was 79 per cent., while the increase in tonnage was 345 per cent. See table 
of Western roads, page 27. 











23 


It will be seen* that the Capital and Debt of the four great 
lines between the Atlantic and the Mississippi amounts to more 
than $500,000,000. Two of these lines, having together about 
one thousand miles of main line within the limits of the state of 
New York, are represented by a capital and debt charge of 
$300,000,000. So of their extensions in Ohio and westward, 
the inflation of their stock and debt accounts has gone far beyond 
the cost and value of the lines. To pay dividends and interest 
on these “watered” liabilities amounts to an onerous tax upon the 
traffic passing over them. So great is the power of these corpor¬ 
ations, that it would be difficult’, and perhaps impossible, to con¬ 
struct rival lines through either Maryland, Pennsylvania, or New 
York, even if a feasible route could be found. The farmers of 
the Western, and the consumers of the New England States, are 
taxed to contribute the dividends upon this enormous amount 
of capital. In other words the internal commerce of the country 
has risen to such proportions, that it confers a value in productive 
power upon East and West trunk lines of railroad, far beyond 
their original cost. The rich and powerful companies who now 
control the other available avenues, will not, of course, permit, 
without strenuous opposition, new and competing lines to be 
built up within the limits of the three States above-named. 
Kecourse must therefore be had to the line passing through 
Virginia, even if it was a less favorable route. Fortunately, 
however, this line is the one which combines the greatest advan¬ 
tages for railroad construction and operation. 

Advantageous Financial Position of the Virginia 

Line . 

It is a promising feature of the Chesapeake and Ohio Enter¬ 
prise that it will be burdened with a debt charge very light in 
contrast with the more northerly lines; and comparatively insig¬ 
nificant, as compared with the cost of the property and its earning 
power. The very favorable terms upon which the Company 
acquires the ownership of all the work done by the State the 
cost of which exceeds $5,000,000, gold value—enables it to enter 
the field with a most valuable franchise, an exceedingly profitable 
line offload, and inconsiderable obligations. The line has been t 1 


*See table, page 26. 







24 


far operated for about 50 per cent of the receipts; and with the 
exception of some of the years covered by the war, paid out of its 
earnings a dividend upon its capital, in addition to the regular 
interest upon its Bonded debt. There are few, if any, Trunk lines 
in the country which will command the same traffic; none where 
the elements of cheap operation are more accessible, and none 
where the revenues are more certain. 

The subscriptions to the capital stock of the company, both by 
the State and the several Counties through which the line passes, 
and by private parties, have enabled them to keep their funded 
debt within the most moderate limits. 

The subjoined statement shows the condition of the Company's 
Funded and Floating Debt on the 30th September, together with 
an estimate of its condition after the road is completed, and the 
value of the same, exclusive of franchises, right of way, &c. 


PROPERTY AND ASSETS. 

Cost of road and buildings between Richmond and White Sulphur 


Springs. $9,027,338 

Equipments, <fcc. 660,641 

Real Estate in Richmond. 34,693 

Interest in Blue Ridge tunnel. 1,500,000 1,534,693 

Work between White Sulphur Springs and Big Sandy. 635,776 

Stocks, bonds and accounts. 97,500 


Cost of road, &c., mainly before the war, in gold. $11,955,948 

PRESENT VALUE OF THE PROPERTY, at least . $ 15 , 000,000 


FUNDED AND FLOATING DEBT. 

Bonds..$1,799,500 

Less investment in sinking fund. 110,743 1,688,757 

Unfunded debt, temporary loans, tolls, &c. 677,160 

Temporary obligations. 1,053,793 

$3,419,900 

Deduct debts due the Company, and cash on hand. 131,206 

Total funded and floating debt, Sept. 30th, 1869,. $3,288,692 


Extension to the Ohio, 

Arrangements have been concluded during the past year, where¬ 
by, through the cooperation of prominent and influential New 
York Capitalists, the Chesapeake and Ohio Company will prose¬ 
cute the work upon the unfinished portion of the line with in¬ 
creased vigor. That part of the road between the Kanahwa coal 



















25 


fields and the western terminus on the Ohio River, (seventy-five 
miles,) being in good part graded, can be completed and put in 
running order, within the current year. This will give an addi¬ 
tional stimulus to the connecting lines now constructing in Cen¬ 
tral Kentucky and Ohio. The heavier items of the work on 
the New River section, between Kanahwa and White Sulphur 
Springs, can, meantime, be put under contract; and by the close 
of 1871, if not sooner, the whole line to the Ohio be brought into 
full operation. 

The condition of the Company's finances, as reflected in the 
above table, is unusually favorable for the prompt completion of 
the work, and for the economical and profitable working of the 
road after completion. 









26 


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